Dressing-case or bureau



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-S'heet 1..

G'. SUGG.

DRESSING CASE 0R BUREAU.

No. 333,977. Patented Jan. 5 18861.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

G SUGG.

DRESSING CASE 0R BUREAU. No. 333,977. Patented Jan. 5, 1886,

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DRESSlNG-CASE OR BUREAU.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,977, dated January 5, 1886.

Application filed March 10, 1884. Serial No. 123,754. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE SUGG, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dressing-Cases or Bureaus, of which the following is a full description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a dressing case having a looking-glass at its top; Fig. 2, a cross-section of the upper part of a dressingcase; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on line w of Fig. 1, showing an under view of the slide.

The object of this invention is to provide a dressingcase, bureau, or other similar article of furniture'with a slide that may be used as a drawer, or as a table or shelf for writing or other purposes, which will not injure the appearance of the dressing-case or take up any unnecessary room when a writing-shelf is not desired, and to give such shelf a firm support.

To such ends my invention consists in the combination, with the frame of a case, of a sliding shelf, a supporting-arm for said shelf, pivoted at one end to the case-frame and extended under the shelf and at the latter end free to move in a lateral direction, and a guidepiece attached to the shelf and bearing against supporting-arms to fold and unfold the arm as the shelf is moved in and out, one of said supporting-arms being placed at agreater angle than the other, to bring one arm in front of the other when the two are folded.

The invention also consists in the combination, with the frame of a case, of a sliding shelf, supporting-arms for said shelf pivoted at one end 0 the sides of the case-frame and extended under the shelf and at one end free to move laterally under the shelf, and guidepieces secured to said shelf and bearing against said supporting-arms to fold and unfold the arms as the shelf is moved in and out, one of said supporting-arms being placed at a greater angle than the other to bring one arm in front of the other when the two are folded.

In the drawings, A indicates a dressingcase; B, the drawers; 0, doors; D, the folding part of the slide; E, the slide or shelf; F F, folding supports; a b, the guides or stops for folding or unfolding the hinged braces; 0, pin for the same purpose; d, finishing bar to the space usually occupied by the upper drawer of a dressing-case, or in other kinds of furniture at about the same height, I place the slide or shelf E, which slides upon and is sup ported by the frame-work of the case when pushed in or drawn out. This slide or shelf E can be covered with cloth, leather, or other material used for covering tables, and at its back it is provided with a board of sufficient height to prevent the shelf from tipping down when it is drawn out without the necessity of running the shelfin grooves madein the casing. The front edge of the shelf E is provided with a folding section, D, which with the finishingbar d fills the space in the front of the case when the shelf is pushed in, so as to give it the appearance of a drawer. As shown in Fig. 2, this folding section is rounded along its lower er. ge, as shown, and held by the hinges f, located upon its inner face or upper surface, and it is made of sufficient length to fill the front space of the casing when it is turned up into the position shown. In this form the hinges are applied at the ends, as shown, so that there are no projections to be in the way of using the shelf for a writing-table. The hinges, however, may be placed at the end when the construction shown in Fig. 2 is used. By this construction, when the front D is folded up, a complete drawer remains, with the exception of the end pieces, so that it can be used for the same purposes that drawers are ordinarily used, and when it is desired to use it for writing purposes, there is sufficient room for the inkstand, stationery, and other articles commonlyplaced on a Writingtable, so that in this respect there is no space lost or wasted in the dressing-case when it is not desirable to use it for writing purposes, and a writingtable is furnished when it is so desired, as is frequently the case in small rooms, and in hotels and boarding-houses. In order to give this shelf a firm support, I have placed beneath it hinged arms, which are hinged to the casing at e, and are placed at a sufficient angle to have the studs or projections to b, which are secured to the shelf E, fold and unfold them as the shelf is pushed in or drawn out.

The support F is placed at a somewhat greater angle than the bar F, so that when they are folded in the arm F will come in front of the arm F, and thus enable me to use much longer supporting-arms than could be used where they did not pass each other in folding. These arms, when the shelf is drawn out, rest upon the frame-work of the casing, thus giving the shelf a much stronger and steadier support than is given to a shelf sliding in grooves, and the furniture is much less liable to be marred or injured in use; and by this arrangement of pivots and guide-pins for the supporting'arms they are automatically folded or unfolded, according to the movement of the sliding shelf, and they do not, therefore, require any separate manipulaton.

I am aware that heretofore a folding desk has been provided with ahorizontally sliding writing-leaf, combined with hracketarms pi oted to the desk-frame, and having slotted arms engaging pins on the under side of the leaf, whereby the outward movement of the leaf draws the slotted arms outward, and thereby swings the bracket-arms outward to support the ends of the leaf, the outward movement of the slotted arms being limited by their striking stop-pins on the leaf. Such construction, however, is not my invention, and is not claimed by me.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the frame of a case, A, of a sliding shelf, E, supporting-arms for said shelf pivoted at one end to the caseframe and extended under the shelf, and at the latter end free to move in a lateral direction, and a guide-piece attached to the shelf and bearing against the supporting-arm to fold and unfold the arm as the shelf is moved in and out, one of said supporting-arms being placed at a greater angle than the other, to bring one arm in front of the other when the two are folded, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the frame of a case, A, of a sliding shelf, E, supporting-arms F F for said shelf pivoted at one end to the sides of the ease-frame and extended under the shelf and at one end free to move laterally under the shelf, and guide-pieces secured to .said shelf and bearing against said supportingarms to fold and unfold the arms as the shelf is moved in and out, one of said supportingarms being placed at a greater angle than the other to bring one arm in front of the other when the two are folded, substantially as described.

GEORGE SUGG.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS, MARIE L. PRICE. 

